How picking apart a person’s life can save that of another – Guide
The walls of our career teacher’s office were covered in faded yellow and orange posters with endless job suggestions for students who liked science or math, or English or history. I don’t remember contact tracking being on any of these lists. I think I could create a career poster for a contact tracker; it’s not science or English you need, it’s curiosity, empathy and a good knowledge of Melbourne’s suburbs.
Contact tracking was the worst job I’ve ever had. Jokingly, I tell my friends that I was born to get in touch with trace and they smile. I suspect my curiosity has been irritating at times in the past. But I know how to ask a question and keep asking until you get an answer. I can convince people to tell me where they’ve been, who they’ve met when they shouldn’t, who they’re sleeping with, who their dealer is. I can handle the silence and the tears. My own tears are never far away in this job.
The need to be cruel shocks me. I still feel the weight of the sadness of the recently widowed grandmother who I separated from her family due to exposure to COVID. That meant she spent the first night without her husband, alone. I locked up families with young children in tiny apartments for weeks. I called many companies to tell them that their venue is an exhibition and that they should be closed, knowing that the call could close them forever. I made 12th grade students skip exams. I’ve sent people to hotel quarantine, appreciating the bravery of those who fight separation. The information I discovered resulted in the closure of a local fish and chips store, large apartment complexes, shopping malls, and the closure of a regional town. ..
I was born into a wealthy family, and I grew up knowing that I had everything. But then I met people who were living in poverty, and it was so shocking to me. I didn’t know how to process what I was seeing.
The media does not report on the stories of people who have COVID. These are real people who have lost their lives because of this virus. Their families and friends need our help to get through this difficult time.
Isolation can make people feel like they’re the only one in the world. They may feel like they’re waiting for the phone, or like they can’t get out of the phone fast enough. Some grow up attached to a specific contact tracker and just want to talk to them. Others avoid our calls or can’t get out of the phone fast enough. Many get angry.
Contact tracking is all about getting the most out of our interactions with others. It’s about understanding what we want, when we want it, and how best to get it from those we interact with. Contact tracking keeps me awake at night because I need to be able to understand what people are saying and how they might be affecting my work. It’s also a part of my waking hours, as I’m constantly talking to people or attending press conferences about work.
It’s hard not to feel responsible for the high numbers of COVID in Melbourne right now. I think about what I might have missed or what outbreak I could have avoided. But I know having this job is a privilege. Every time i choose up The phone and start a contact tracking interview, I’m surprised and grateful for people’s willingness to open up and share your every move, to let me separate every bit of your own life, in order to maybe save someone else’s.
Final note
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